


I Dream of Coffee

by Writer_Geekgirl



Series: Castiel and Dean: An AU Love Story [1]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Destiel Promptober, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-02
Updated: 2018-10-02
Packaged: 2019-07-23 16:49:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,654
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16162934
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Writer_Geekgirl/pseuds/Writer_Geekgirl
Summary: Dean and Sam travel to an alternate universe in which Castiel works as a barista in a coffee shop.This work is part of the Destiel Promptober in which there is a different AU theme for each day in October. The AU for the day is Coffee Shop.





	I Dream of Coffee

Dean felt a wave of nausea and dizziness as he drove the Impala down Main Street. He swerved onto a curb, disturbing his moose of a brother from a nap.

Sam snapped, "What gives, Dean?" He brushed his hand through his hair irritated after the rude awakening.

Dean mumbled, "I don't know, man. I guess that ghost hunt took more out of me than I thought. Let's get some coffee."

Sam pointed out a coffee shop at the end of the block, "Gabe's Coffee and Pie sounds right up your alley, Dean."

Dean pulled the car carefully into a space in front of the coffee shop. As Dean opened the door to the shop, he stopped in his tracks as he saw his best friend and angel, Castiel, acting as the barista behind the counter. Instead of his usual trench coat, Castiel wore a black, knit polo shirt over a pair of jeans and a neat apron tied around his waist.

Sam ran into Dean's back irritated for a moment until he looked over his shoulder with a surprised and understated, "Huh?"

Dean strode over to the counter with an annoyed look. When he had called Castiel for help for the ghost hunt, Castiel had not answered the phone. Dean said grumpily, "What are you doing working here, Cas?"

Castiel gave a long-suffering sigh, "The same reason I tell you every time you ask. I like working here -- it gives me time to work on writing my screenplay, my coworkers are fun, and I like interacting with customers. Yes, I know I could make more money if I went back into teaching, but I would never have time to write. Next question?"

Dean's jaw dropped as he listened to Castiel. The stilted, more formal language the angel usually used was gone and he spoke in an easy banter. He turned around and looked at Sam in bewilderment.

Sam croaked in a confused voice, "Can we order our usual?"

A brunette woman walked nonchalantly out of the back and said with a smirk, "I don't know. Can you?"

Sam asked in an incredulous voice, "Meg?"

Meg looked at him, "Who else, moosinator? Clarence, you want me to get their pie?"

"Yep, I'll make their drinks -- one plain coffee with cream and sugar for Dean and a mocha espresso with a double shot for Sam. Sit down, guys, I'll bring them to you."

Dean in a dazed voice said, "How much do I owe you?"

Castiel squinted at him, "You know you don't pay here."

Meg smirked, "He takes it out of your pretty ass at home. Don't you, Clarence?"

Castiel rolled his eyes, "Be nice, Meg, or I'll feed you to Crowley's dog, Juliet."

Dean and Sam stumbled over to a corner booth. Dean looked at Sam wide-eyed, "I'm not imagining this, am I? Am I in a djinn dream?"

"Seriously, dude -- your djinn dream would involve Meg and Cas working in a coffee shop? Last time you had a dream, you were dreaming of a hot babe and mom. Did anything funny happen while I was asleep? 

"I was dizzy -- that's why I ran on up on the curb."

"My guess is it's another bizarro world and you're in a relationship with fake Cas."

"What do we do?"

Sam shrugged, "Look for a way out of here?"

Dean snorted, "We don't even know how we got here."

Castiel arrived with their coffees right then and placed them in front of them. "I'll be right back with your pie."

As Dean stared at the way that the denim jeans fit the contours of Castiel's butt, Sam cleared his throat and said quietly, "So get this, real you seems to have a thing for fake Cas too." Sam leaned back with a smug look.

"Stuff it, Sam. He just looks different when he's not in a trench coat. He seems bigger somehow."

Sam chortled, "What part?"

Dean whacked Sam upside his head, as Castiel appeared out of nowhere with the pie. Dean jumped as the pies were suddenly placed on the table. "Dammit, Cas, I still need to get a bell for you."

Castiel winked, "I'd prefer a ring."

Sam leaned back and laughed loudly. Dean shot Sam a death glare. Dean said calmly, "Cas, Sam and I were just debating the day you and I met. Can you confirm the story, so I can make him eat his words? There could be a bet involved."

Castiel sighed, "September 18th, 2008, Dean swerved his motorcycle trying to miss Crowley's dog and wound up head first in a muddy ditch. I was walking across the street. I ran over and was sure he was dead. But the mud gave him a soft landing and I was able to pull him out of the mud and get him back up on his feet."

Sam joked, "You might say, you gripped him tight and raised him from perdition."

Castiel sighed, "If by perdition, you mean I got him out of the mud, yeah. My apartment was across the street, so I took him there and allowed him to clean up and lent him some clothes. We talked, and I knew the lyrics of every Led Zeppelin song he named, which I gather was his test for a serious relationship. I was so lucky to be the first one to ever past that test. So, here we are. What part of the story did one of you have incorrect?"

Sam responded with a smile, "I'm sorry I thought the story somehow involved a barn."

"Well, it was a barn where we first…"

Dean interrupted, "And, we don't need to overshare the details of that with Sasquatch."

Castiel smiled, "I got to get back to work, babe. Don't you have impressionable young minds to mold?"

Sam supplied, "That's right because he's a... ummm... teacher?"

Meg cackled from behind the bar, "A drama teacher. A rose by any other name would smell just as sweet."

Castiel leaned over to give Dean a kiss on his cheek and headed back to the counter. Dean and Sam headed to the exit of the shop after waving goodbye.

Dean looked at Sam confused, "What the hell was all that?"

"I don't know. What should we do?"

"I guess we play our role like we did when we got trapped in the tv universes, but also treat it as a case." Dean reached into his pocket to pull out his EMF detector and realized it wasn't there. He patted himself down and none of the weapons and other usual gear was in its hiding place -- no knives in his boot, nothing tucked in his belt under the jacket. His eyes widened as he paced over to the Impala. Opening it up, all he saw was a duffle bag of gym clothes, a box of textbooks, and a Better Homes and Garden magazine. He picked it up by the corner and looked at it distastefully, "Son of a bitch."

Sam pulled out his wallet and blinked at the business card. "Dude, I fix computers at a store down the street. I live in an apartment nearby based on the address on my driver's license."

Dean grunted as he pulled out a teacher ID from a high school. "Well?"

"Let's check the car for hex bags." Sam started to paw his way through the car. 

Dean's cell phone buzzed, and he jumped startled. He gulped at looked at Sam. "It's from Charlie. She's asking me where the hell I'm at. I'm late for class."

"You go there, Dean, and see if you see anything weird. I'll walk to work and see if there's anything weird there. Let's meet at the diner at the corner after work."

\------

Sam was sitting at the table fiddling with a packet of sugar when Dean walked into the diner a few hours later. Sam looked at Dean blankly.

Dean asked, "What's the matter, Sam?"

"Jess texted me and asked me what time I was going to be home tonight. I can't do that, Dean. I can't see her. I just…" Sam turned mournful eyes to Dean. "I can't get her back and then lose her again."

"I'm thinking we should just drive out of town and head to the bunker. Maybe, what's ever going on here will end if we just leave. We can always come back if that idea doesn't pan out."

Sam hissed, "Incoming."

Castiel walked across the diner with a broad smile, "I saw the Impala. Is it ok if I join you? If you need some quality bro time, I can head home and meet you there later, Dean."

Dean waved to the seat next to him. Castiel slid into the seat and kissed Dean on the cheek, leaning into him. Dean shifted uncomfortably for a second as Castiel's leg brushed his, but then relaxed into it. He shot Sam a look, daring him to say anything.

Sam asked, "Cas, have you felt any cold spots, smelled spoiled eggs, seen any gooey substances, anything like that?"

Castiel rolled his eyes, "Are you making fun of the screenplay I'm writing? Are you going to ask me questions about hunting ghosts, werewolves, and demons?"

Dean asked, "How do you kill ghosts?"

"Salt them and burn their bones. You know this." Castiel ruffled Dean's hair affectionately. "What's up with you two; you are acting weird?"

Sam muttered, "We're acting weird?"

Castiel shot Sam the angry glare that had caused demons to quake in his normal angel form. Sam moved uncomfortably.

Dean said, "It's been a day, Cas. I had a headache, so I made the munchkins watch 12 Angry Men. Charlie hooked me up with a copy when I came in late -- she told me it was on the approved curriculum, but I'll have to be her handmaiden next LARP. Somethings don’t change no matter the universe."

Castiel shot him a confused look, while Dean flagged down a waiter and ordered them hamburgers and Sam a salad. Castiel looked confused, "Since when does Sam eat salads? Are you sure that's what you want? Dean can be an assbutt at times."

Sam assured him it was fine. They let Castiel lead a light-hearted discussion as they ate their food. Castiel's hand kept finding its way to Dean's knee. Dean tried to ignore it, but the heat of his hand felt comforting but distracting at the same time.

After they were finished, Castiel walked out into the parking lot with them. He paused by the Impala before asking, "Are we going to drop Sam off and head home?"

Sam shot Dean a panicked look. Dean asked, "How about a few drinks first?"

Castiel's eyebrows shot together, "On a school night?"

Dean froze when he heard the click of a gun behind him. He reached for a gun in the small of his back that wasn't there.

A mumbling voice said, "Give me all your money and nobody gets hurt."

Castiel gasped as Dean turned slowly around. "Sure, buddy, don't get nervous. I'm going to reach into my pocket and get my wallet for you."

Sam stepped back from the man with his hands in the air. "No harm, no foul, dude. Can I reach into my pocket?"

A man in a dark hoody pulled over his face stood there. Dean had the impression he was young based on his voice and size. Dean said reassuringly, "No one's going to hurt you. We're just going to give you our wallets and you can be on your way. Right, Cas?"

Castiel said, "Yeah. Let me get that for you."

Dean held out his wallet to the boy, who grabbed it. As he reached out to get Sam's, a car's backfire sounded down the street and the boy jumped startled. The gun discharged, and Dean heard a yelp from Castiel. Sam knocked the boy to the ground and took the gun, while Dean faced Castiel in horror as a sea of red blossomed against the dark polo shirt. Dean pulled off his jacket and held it against Castiel's wound as Dean yelled for someone to call 911. 

Castiel moaned, "I love you, Dean. I love both of you."

"No man, this ain't bad. I've had much worse. You'll be fine. Don't you dare leave me again, Cas," Dean growled.

Castiel looked confused. "Again?" he asked weakly.

"You aren't allowed to leave me in this or any reality, you son of a bitch. You keep fighting."

Dean continued to talk to Castiel and apply pressure to his wound until the paramedics arrived to relieve him. He and Sam followed the ambulance to the hospital. Dean paced the waiting room. At one point, Sam said quietly, "He's not really your Cas."

Dean turned on him and growled, "Do you think that makes a difference? I don't care if he's an angel of the lord or a dude at a coffee shop. He's not going to die on my watch."

Sam held up his hands in mock surrender. "Just saying. We need to find our way home."

When the doctor came through the swinging doors, he approached Dean and said, "You partner is going to be fine. He lost a lot of blood and a lung got nicked, but he's stable and in good shape. You can go see him."

Dean and Sam walked back to Castiel's room. He smiled weakly at Dean and said hoarsely, "I didn't leave you."

Dean sat down next to him and pulled Castiel's hand into his own. He struggled for words to say. He finally said, "Can't leave because we got to put a ring on it and listen to some bells."

Sam looked at him startled and walked out of the room to give the couple privacy. Dean felt confused but sat next to Castiel, holding his hand until they both drifted off to sleep.

\-------

Dean woke up to hitting the curb in the Impala. Sam snapped awake, "Dude."

Dean blinked his eyes, looking around. He was on Main Street where he had gotten dizzy the day before, and there was no Gabe's Coffee and Pie Shop. He stuttered to Sam, "I guess I fell asleep. I should have stopped at the hotel last night just like you said."

"I had the weirdest dream, Dean. Cas worked in a coffee shop, and Meg was there with him."

Dean's eyes widened. "Sam, I had the same dream." Dean reached into his pocket and fished out his phone. There was no message from Charlie and the date on the phone was the previous day. Dean parked the car in front of the Starbucks that was in the same location as Cas' coffee shop. He entered the coffee shop and saw a short, blonde woman stood behind on the counter, while a tall, gangly teenage boy filled orders in the back.

Dean turned to Sam, "Did Cas get shot?"

"Yeah, but he was fine in the end in my dream."

Dean pulled out his phone and called Castiel. He answered in his gravelly voice, "Hello, Dean. My apologies for missing your call yesterday. I was just about to call you -- I misplaced the charger and my phone died. Are you and Sam ok?"

"We're fine. But, Cas, you are like in one piece, right? No one shot you?"

"I'm fine, Dean. I'm heading to the bunker. Do you want to meet up there?" Castiel asked, sounding concerned at the panic in Dean's voice.

"Ok, Cas. I'll see you. And Cas… I… I miss you." Dean hung up the phone quickly. He glared at Sam, "Not a word." Dean popped the trunk when they returned to the Impala. The magazine and textbooks were gone, replaced by the grenade launcher and the other tools of a hunter's trade. Dean looked up at Sam, "I don't know what that was, but I don't think we were in Kansas anymore."


End file.
